Audit at Power Distributor CEZ 'Showed No Lapse'

Petr Dokladal, Chairman and Regional Manager of CEZ Bulgaria, believes the audit will show no grounds for scrapping power distributors' licenses. Photo by BGNES

The audit being conducted by Bulgaria's energy watchdog DKEVR at Czech-based power distributorCEZ has found no lapses so far, the company announced on Tuesday.

According to results of the financial inspection, no violation of license duties has been committed by the power distributor, Dnevnik.bg has reported.

Most remarks regarding CEZ's activities involve omissions such as "the numbering of electricity poles" or "trimming trees and grass", the chief executive of CEZ Distribution, Stefan Apostolov, said at a news conference.

The audit began in 2014 and refers to CEZ's activities between July 2008 and November 2013. CEZ's regional manager, Petr Dokladal, told journalists he did not see any danger to the company's license in Bulgaria.

His words come amid a scandal in which CEZ was embroiled over hundreds of millions of BGN worth debts which the National Electricity Company (NEK) claims from the three power distributors operating in Bulgaria.

CEZ, EVN and Energo-Pro however insist they have kept back money to balance on their budgets, after not being paid any fees by renewable energy producers.

Economy Minister Dragomir Stoynev has threatened to suspend the distributors' permits to operate in Bulgaria unless they transfer the necessary amounts of money to NEK.

Some say Bulgaria's energy system is under threat if no hike on electricity prices is adopted to cover expenses of both power distributors and the state-owned electricity company.